Benjamin p



(N0 M0de1.-) B. P. FOSTER.

, TONGUE SUPPORT.-

'NO. 470,931. Patented Mar. 15, 1892.

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WJZWESSES fdJ I y BENJAMIN F. FOSTER, OF NEOSI-IO, MISSOURI, ASSIGN OROF TWO-THIRDS TO J. M. PROPST AND GEORGE GRAVES, OF SAME PLACE.

TONGUE-SUPPORT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 470,931, dated March15, 1892. Application filed November 12, 1891- Serial No. 411,686. (Nomodel.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN F. FOSTER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Neosho, in the county of Newton and State of Missonri, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Sp ring-Supports for\Vagon- Tongues; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

Myinvention relates to spring-supports for vehicle-tongues, the objectof which is to relieve the necks of horses from the Weight of suchtongue, and thus enable the vehicle to be more easily guided andcontrolled by the driver.

Myinvention consists in providing a spring on the under side of thetongue in such a o manner that the tension thereof may be utilized, andby the addition of a pin, as will be hereinafter set forth, the tonguemay be rigidly secured in any preferred position.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of awagon having my invention appliedthereto. Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective detail. View of the deviceremoved.

Referring in detail to the various parts of my invention by theirrespective figures of 0 designation, 1 is the base-plate, Which may beattached to the front side of the front axle of the wagon of the usualconstruction, while 2 represents a horizontal bar affixed to said plateand reaching forward through 3 5 an aperture 3, provided in thedownwardlyreaching arm 4 of the bracket 5,said bracket being secured tothe under side of the tongue near the rear end thereof.

Intermediate the base 1 and the bracket 5 0 I place upon the bar 2 thespiral spring 6, the tension of which regulates the position of thetongue. The bar 2 is provided with the series of apertures 7, the objectof which is to enable a pin to be inserted therein im- 5 mediately inthe rear of the bracket 5, when the tension of the spring will berelieved and theweight of the tongue will come upon such pin. Thebase-plate 1 is preferably bolted to the axle, While the bracket 5 issecured in the same manner to thetongueby bolts Spassing through thefront end of such bracket and the rear end of the tongue, when they aresecured by nuts in the usual manner.

ard, when the aperture in the arm 4 is so placed that it will receivethe free end of the bar 2 and the bracket is moved rearwardly into thedesired position and secured by the bolts. When the parts are thusassembled, it will be seen that the tongue will be held in the desiredposition and the weight thereof will be taken from the necks of theanimals, leaving the vehicle in such condition that it may be easilyguided.

I am well aware that it is old in tonguesupports to connect a plate tothe forward 7o side of an axle-tree; to connect a bearingplate having anaperture to the under side of a pivoted tongue; to provide a rodconnected to the plate on the axle tree and taking loosely through theaperture in the plate on the tongue and having screw-threads for aportion of its length, a nut mounted on the threaded portion of the rod,and a spiral spring surrounding the rod intermediate of the nut and thebearing-plate on the tongue, and I therefore make no claim to suchconstruction; but

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a tongue-support for vehicles, the combination, with the vehicle andthe tongue connected thereto, of the plate 1, connected to the frontaxle of the vehicle, the bar 2, connected to said plate and having anaperture adjacent to its forward end, the bracket connected to the underside of the tongue, the depending arm connect-edto the bracket andhaving an aperture to receive the forward end of the bar 2, the spiralspring mounted on the bar between the plate 1 and 5 the bracket-arm, andthe pin adapted to be inserted in the aperture of the bar 2 to take thestrain oft the spring, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in too presence of twowitnesses.

BENJAMIN F. FOSTER.

Witnesses:

DALLAS MASON, P. R. SMITH.

